Cultural sensitivities must not be allowed to deter work aimed at uncovering child sex abuse, the home secretary has said.

Amber Rudd spoke after the convictions of 17 men and one woman three days ago for the sexual abuse of under-age girls in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Her intervention came as Jeremy Wright, the attorney-general, faced calls to review the sentences of several members of the gang after it emerged that the apparently racially aggravated nature of their crimes was not reflected in their punishment.

Mike Penning, a former policing minister, said that he had written to Mr Wright questioning whether the incident should be treated as “a race-hate crime”.